The buzz is back and resurgent Boro are making progress on three fronts. Four wins in a row, a morale boosting mauling of the champions, Boateng back in action and Roma looming on the UEFA Cup horizon.

Suddenly things look good for Boro and the fans have responded in style. The noise and passion at home to Coventry and Chelsea and away at Stuttgart and Preston show that the crowd are united and on a high.

Crisis, what crisis? Yes, there can still be pitfalls. There is only a slender lead over Stuttgart and the next two league games at West Brom and at home to Birmingham will set the tone for the rest of the Premiership season, but it seems inconceivable that a side that has started to "win ugly" can now go down.

Yet a fortnight ago even the most level-headed of supporters seemed resigned to a demoralised, fragile and shapeless side being dragged down into the abyss. Even the players seemed to know they were doomed. Suddenly the situation has been transformed. But how? What galvanised the club?

What happened was that Boro were given an emotional jump start by the defeat at Villa.

The entire season - possibly the entire future of the Riverside Revolution - was on a knife-edge that day.

Having being battered by Arsenal and fallen to a sucker punch by Wigan, Boro had then lulled themselves into a false sense of security when they won away at the worst team in Premiership history.

But against Villa every element of the club - players, fans and board - were left emotionally exposed, battered and drained. Arsenal wasn't when we hit rock bottom, Villa was.

Against Arsenal Steve McClaren was still in denial. It was because we played kids. Because we only had ten men. It was because no one can play against Henry in that form.

But having capitulated so cravenly against a poor Villa side it simply wasn't possible any longer to disguise the enormity of the situation. Something had to be done.

The team was in freefall and the crowd in revolt. The season was in meltdown and the depth of crisis was clearly visible on and off the pitch.

The crisis of confidence among the players was shown as the tension off being a 17-year-old and holding the team together became too much for Lee Cattermole and he started to cry. Heart-rending stuff and at that moment the crowd knew that despite accusations to the contrary the players DID care.

And the crisis of faith in the crowd was audible with the damning soundtrack of boos and vitriolic barracking and the sight of a fan running 50 yards to confront the boss.

The symbolic throwing of the season ticket - something Boro fans associate with Mackems and Geordies - was an act of utter desperation and frustration and one that judging by the applause as the protester was hauled off, struck a chord with many.

Neither the shocked manager nor the team who saw the incident could be under illusions that similar displays would be tolerated.

Players who had made jibes at the fans must have suddenly realised that they hadn't seen anything yet.

After the game, following a soul-baring dressing room lock in, Mark Viduka was involved in an ugly exchange of insults and gestures with angry fans outside the ground and the bitter divisions between team and supporters came as close as is possible to outright conflict.

Enter Steve Gibson. The boss came out of the stadium and bravely opened up to the still fuming fans gathered outside partly in demonstration and partly in desperation.

For a few weeks previously the judgment of the once untouchable Gibson himself had been questioned, but he dealt with angst head on and diffused an incipient revolt.

He said he recognised the passion in the fans running on. He recognised the football had not been good and pledged it would change. He insisted there was no point in agitating against the boss because he and he alone would take those decisions and he was not inclined to axe the man who had delivered silverware and Europe.

It was a key intervention. Word spread quickly and Gibson's personal kudos and willingness to confront the problems temporarily halted the anger. It helped hold the club together when it looked like it was set to fall into bitterly divided factions.

That bought the breathing space that allowed the team to put the pieces back together.

A win was crucial and they got it against Coventry, but tensions were still running high.

Then came Chelsea and an affirmation of what the squad was capable of achieving and how the crowd was able to react. Goals, confidence, unconditional support, the Southgate Salute and players running to the fans to celebrate... suddenly the club looked a single united entity again.